The Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza, designed by MAD, is currently under steady construction. Design began in 2019, and by the end of 2023 the steel diagrid structure was completed. The project is now in the façade installation phase.

Located along the central urban axis of Jiaxing and adjacent to South Lake, the Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza comprises three venues dedicated to science, culture, and commerce. The site covers approximately 130,000 square meters, with a total construction area of 180,000 square meters — including 72,000 square meters above ground.

MAD aims to explore the integration of city, nature, and culture to create an urban garden-living room a space that is accessible to all, inviting people to linger and connect. Beyond fulfilling its programmatic functions, the architecture is intended to foster local interaction with the urban environment and everyday civic life.

The three venues are linked “hand-in-hand,” unified by a circular white ceramic-tile roof that brings them together as a whole. At the center, a 6,000-square-meter circular lawn serves as a civic public space for gathering, rest, and recreation.

The roof's diagrid shell adopts a large-span, irregular spatial steel arch system, reaching a maximum height of 23.9 meters. Spans range from approximately 46 meters to as much as 100 meters, enabling expansive column-free interiors beneath the structure.

The organic roof form creates a continuous, undulating, and flowing skyline. A total of 550,000 white ceramic tiles are laid along the curved surface, echoing the traditional barrel-tile roofs of the southern water towns while shaping a soft, fluid, and dynamic architectural expression.

Traditional barrel-tile roofs of Jiangnan (left); white ceramic-tile roof of Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza (right)

Beneath the white ceramic-tile roof are terraced spaces facing the central lawn, housing exhibition, theater, education, activity, and interactive entertainment functions. The architectural volumes interweave with the roof to create multiple urban grey spaces. A 350-meter-long elevated landscape corridor and running path on the second level connects the central green space with the open-air theater and sunken plaza on the east side, offering citizens a peaceful retreat from the bustle of the city.

The fluid and dynamic interior spaces are complemented by a palette of pure white and natural wood tones. Minimal floor-to-ceiling glazing blurs the boundary between interior and exterior. Natural light filters through irregular skylights and louvered elements, creating a rhythmic interplay of light and shadow throughout the space.

The roofs of Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza consist of complex, irregular curved surfaces, with nearly a thousand unique connection types between different façade systems. To ensure a smooth, continuous surface from overlapping ceramic tiles, the designers, façade consultants, and construction documentation team collaborated using parametric BIM technology. By referencing full-scale visual mock-ups on site, they optimized the layout and detailing of both the ceramic tiles and their supporting structures—streamlining the installation process while improving construction precision.

Roof System Layering Diagram
Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza is about to enter the waterproofing stage of façade construction.

Master Plan
Jiaxing Nanhu Future Plaza
Jiaxing, China
2019–2025

Type: Public Cultural Complex
Site Area: 126,740 m²
Gross Floor Area: approx. 180,000 m²
Above Ground: 72,351 m²
Below Ground: 107,950 m²
Building Height: 37.1 meters

Principal Partners: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners: Fu Changrui, Li Jian, Liu Huiying

Design Team: He Xiaowen, Yin Jianfeng, Chen-Hsiang Chao, He Yiming, Fabio Mario Rivera Montano, Chen Hao, Alessandro Fisalli, Xue Yawen, Wu Aoqian, Long Teng, Guo Changda, Guo Xuan, Zhang Yaohui, Sheik Thoufeeq Ahamed, Shen Meng, Claudia Hertrich, Li Yingzhou, Edgar Navarrete Sanchez, Fu Xiaoyi, Haruka Tomoeda, Jacob Yao Hu, Alan Rodríguez Carrillo, Chen Nianhai, Luis Torres, Li Cunhao, Piyanat Songkhroh, Deng Wei, Zhang Xiaomei

Client: Jiaxing Expressway Investment Co., Ltd.
Architectural Design: MAD
Class-A Design Institutes: East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.; Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.
Interior Design: MAD; Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration Environment Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Landscape Design: MAD Architects; EDSA Orient; Beijing YUNH Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Façade Consultants: Alpha Architecture & Engineering Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; Shanghai Construction Decoration Engineering Group Co., Ltd.
Signage Consultants: Nippon Design Center; Chengdian (Shanghai) Architectural Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Lighting Consultants: Ninglighting Studio; Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration Environment Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Acoustic Consultant: Shanghai Zhang Kuisheng Acoustic Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.
Traffic Consultants: Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.; China Architecture Design & Research Group
Photography: Ye Jianyuan, Mufeng Xiaodiao 0573